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Sunday, April 10, 2016

Writing Bull Riders - Jeannie Watt

Hi everyone!

Recently I started writing bull rider books and talk about
fun! I’ve always loved bull riding. It’s the final rodeo event and even my
father, who was notorious for leaving things early to beat the crowd out of the
parking lot, stayed in his seat until the last whistle blew.

Bull riders are a special breed. They may be cocky or they
may be quiet and humble, but regardless of temperament, they have a need to
test themselves and the ability to persevere despite
debilitating pain. They are driven by a passion that many of us never experience in our chosen careers.
Why else would they put themselves up against a cranky beast that weighs well over half a ton?

During my career in education, I’ve taught a few bull
riders. Many were impulsive, and some might say reckless, but to persevere in
the sport, a person has to train, commit to a schedule, ignore impulse and
embrace the science of the sport. Those that can’t do that, don’t last long. I
love my bull riding heroes, love exploring their psyches and pitting them
against heroines who bring out in the best in them.

Alexa Benjamin had yet to see a bull rider who didn’t walk
as if he owned the world, and the guy coming up the front walk of her best
friend’s house? He looked as if he were in charge of the universe. Never in her
twenty-eight years had she encountered anyone as sure of himself as Grady Owen.
Nor anyone quite as irritating.

Lex stepped back from the window, gave her shoulders a roll,
then started toward the front door to head off trouble. Grady had just hit the
top step when she walked out onto the porch and took a stance. When he saw her,
his expression shifted from good natured to hard so quickly it would have been
comical if she didn’t suspect that he was there to screw up her best friend’s life.
Again.

“Lex. What a pleasant surprise.” But there was no hint of
friendliness in his gray eyes.

“Same here,” she said, folding her arms over her chest as
she studied the man who was not going to get into the house. Like all bull
riders, Grady was one tightly packed unit: average height, lean and wiry. Lex
knew if she reached out and ran a hand over his arm, or any part of his body
for that matter, all she would feel would be sinew and muscle. Sometimes, in
the past, she’d felt a subtle urge to do just that, to touch his fascinatingly
hard body. But Grady had always had that effect on her. He drove her crazy with
his self-absorbed attitude and cockiness, yet a small part of her found him
interesting. She’d reminded herself on more than one occasion that some people
found major disasters interesting, also.